A salvage operation for a shipwreck takes place in the Dutch East Indies during 1883—present-day western Indonesia—and finds a ship captain (played by Maximilian Schell) obligated by authorities to carry prisoners while an eruption of Krakatoa and its resulting tsunami create additional problems. Diane Baker portrays his love interest, Brian Keith is cast as a diver past his prime, and Barbara Werle embodies the diver’s young companion. Sal Mineo and J.D. Cannon are also featured in the film. “Krakatoa: East of Java” (1968) combines shipboard adventure with disaster elements, reminiscent of films like “The Poseidon Adventure” (1972) and "Titanic" (1997), though it doesn't quite manage to make the characters as engaging. The plot feels ordinary and moves along slowly, but there are still some worthwhile aspects to be found. Regarding the film’s name, Krakatoa is in fact west of Java—and east of Sumatra—but the producers chose to retain this geographical inaccuracy because “Krakatoa, West of Java” apparently sounded less appealing. The title also contributed to the widespread use of the spelling ‘Krakatoa’ rather than the Indonesian form ‘Krakatau.’ The movie has a running time of 1 hour and 46 minutes and was filmed aboard a passenger-cargo ship built in England around 1880, supplemented by studio work done in Spain and Italy. GRADE: C+

Source on TMDB